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I really don't know where to start.

The title is as accurate as I can describe it in a title thing - its not that I have difficulty learning the software I am using (CC3, FT3, Inkscape, GIMP) Its just I really don't know where to start to get into a good practice regime.

What works best for you guys?

Do you come up with the world first, and then work on a region?

For those of you who work with FT3, do you start with a region and then try to create it in FT3 to fit it into another world??

What tools do you find the hardest to master in each program, and which tools do you think are essential to practicing first?

Keep in mind, I do not care to do any physical/hand drawn work - I want to practice utilizing entirely digital means with GIMP and Inkscape being Post editing tools rather than initial concept tools. Thanks for any advice and wisdom you can share!

What to do first depend partly on where you're going. To what use(s)will you put your maps?

I prefer to start from scratch - Really Scratch, like a blank world. For me, the physical geography actually generates the ideas behind societies, characters, events. That order doesn't work for some folks, though.

Well, I don't have any initial goals right now - just want to create worlds, learn the tools. I want to do what it sounds like you're doing, in a sense - I want to utilize fractal terrains to make gorgeous blank worlds, and then I'll be passing them over to a friend who has a hobby for society/ history building, so ideally I'd like to make physical maps that are easy for a layman to read (advice on projections would help in this regard, as well.)